HARRISBURG, Pa. (CBS) — An activist in Harrisburg says Pennsylvania’s Ethics Commission has launched an investigation into his complaints about state attorney general Kathleen Kane’s handling of the prosecution of four Philadelphia state legislators allegedly caught on tape accepting money during a sting operation.

That probe was later shut down by the attorney general, saying she she had no choice because the investigation was so flawed (see related story).

The state Ethics Commission won’t confirm or deny by name an investigation of any individual, but longtime activist Gene Stilp has distributed copies of a letter from the Ethics Commission stating it has “initiated full investigations” in relation to the complaints it references with four file numbers.

In a statement, Stilp says the only set of complaints he’s made to the panel that fit the “timing and number of defendants involved” is the matter of the lawmakers caught up in the sting cancelled by the attorney general.

Philadelphia DA Seth Williams has announced he will present evidence in the case to a grand jury (see related story). The Ethics Commission does not have the power to bring criminal charges but can impose fines.

Tony Romeo is Harrisburg bureau chief for KYW Newsradio 1060.
Born and raised in the Harrisburg area, Romeo began his professional career at age 18, while in college at Penn State Harrisburg. He was still a college student when ...